Chapter 17: Collateral

"Katie Kate, this is not funny," Clint said as he called for about the twelfth time in as many minutes trying to find Tony and Kate. They'd signalled him to get to their coordinates, and it had only taken him all of, oh, ten minutes to get from his perch to the ground and to their position.

It had now been thirty minutes.

The only thing he could really find was a whole lot of tire tracks, the kind that meant a small army of cars had come to a screeching turn and probably a stop right around that area. But that was literally his only clue.

Of course, Clint wasn't the only backup; they'd lost plenty of people to whoever was doing the snatching, so no way was there only a 'Plan A'. "May," he said in his comm. "Still no sign. How far out are you?" He was trying not to sound too panicked, but the truth of it was that he was. Oh so very much.

"From the position you gave me two minutes ago?" she replied. "Look up."

Clint did that and had to grin as he shook his head. "Yeah, I'm only saying this because Tony's not around — but that is too cool," he said as the transport shimmered into sight above his head.

"Already running the trace on their beacons. I have them on my plotter." She'd already taken the plane down, with the hatch open for him. "I'm not leaving you behind with all this mess. Get in."

"Really rather stay here and find Kate," he said even as he was climbing in.

"I'm not asking — and we're following their beacons so you're not leaving anyone. Get in," she pointed out, already putting forward motion together as the hatch closed itself and Clint made his way toward the cockpit to watch the beacons on screen.

But, naturally, after seven or eight miles, the beacons went still — transmitting, but simply not moving. And when they found the spot, the only sign that the two of them had been there was the pair of cufflinks and one lone earring that Clint found on the ground.

"Kate!" Clint said in what was both a whisper and somehow a shout at the same time as he started to sprint, just trying to find something. He was really settling into a panic by then, especially since if Kate had been grabbed… they still didn't know who by. And she was not the science type.

May was looking over the site too, the jet set off to the side and partly hidden as they searched, but it was pretty apparent to her what had happened. "They never even stopped," she called out to him. "We need to regroup. Right now."

Clint turned back toward her with the panic clear in his expression. "We gotta find her," he said. "They only want scientists."

"This wasn't the same as the others," May pointed out. "It was in the open, rough, and obviously not as practiced. We'll have Skye look into the cameras. These people had to have made a mistake. Even if they did find the beacons and toss them."

"Right, yeah, if it's not the same… not sure if that's better or worse, though, to be honest," Clint muttered to himself as he passed both hands through his hair.

"It's better," she told him. "If they were pros, they wouldn't have taken her."

"Kurt's gonna freak," Clint muttered under his breath.

"Then I'll tell him," May said.

"Good — and I'll get Nat and bring her back here," Clint decided. "You can feed us intel as soon as Skye has it."

"I'll fly," May said. "No missions without someone with more experience than you kids have." She started toward the plane with a confident stride. "You're good, but you're not the best."

"Yeah, I dare you to find a better archer," he said with his arms crossed.

"I thought that's what this new mission was," May challenged with a smirk.

"Hey." Clint tipped his chin up.

May kept her stoic look as she faced him. "You were saying?"

Clint held her gaze for a second before he gestured toward the controls. "Dared you to find her, didn't I?"

"After I already volunteered," she replied as she started takeoff procedures.

"Yeah, well. You can fly me and Nat."

She drew in a long breath and rolled her eyes as she switched the radio over to hail Skye, already filling her in before they were even out of the district airspace. "She'll have what we need by the time we're ready to leave."

Clint nodded at that and looked out at the district for a second before May put them in the air. "Really don't like leaving her behind. Tony either, but…" He shook his head. "I don't like it."

"Considering the climate, we need to get the intel first. No sense losing more when your numbers are starting to dwindle."

Clint just let out a sigh and settled into the copilot seat, the frown filling his features.

When the bag came off of Tony's head, he was a little surprised to see that he wasn't in some cave or dungeon — or even, for that matter, some evil scientist's lab. Instead, it looked like he was in the presidential suite of one of the fancier high-rises in One, looking out over the whole district. The place was luxurious — even the smell of it was the kind of thing you could only have found in the Capitol back when Thanos ran things — and the place practically sparkled, with a fancy glass table near the windows and several paintings hanging on the walls that looked like they were worth more than the district below them.

Which was all well and good but didn't exactly distract from the fact that he was tied tightly to a chair.

Wilson Fisk was back again, this time seated in a comfortable, plush chair and with none of the pleasant and charming demeanor he'd been putting on for their earlier chat. Now, he just looked smug as, even seated, he seemed to tower over Tony.

"Mr. Stark, I hope you've had the opportunity to more properly consider my generous offer."

"Oh, you mean the contractual obligation for intellectual slavery?" Tony shot back.

"I don't believe you quite understand your current predicament. The contract is no longer an option," Fisk replied in a brusque sort of tone.

"So you thought instead you'd send an invitation engraved by your Neanderthal assistants," Tony said with a tone of pure disdain as he glanced around the place, worried already when he didn't spot Kate anywhere.

"I'm simply asking if putting you in the lab will be enough to get you working or if we need to move on to less… civilized means," Fisk said, matching Tony's tone.

"Yeah, that's a big fat 'not gonna happen'," Tony said as he finally got his hands in a position that he could reach the trick that was literally up his sleeve. This is gonna hurt, he thought to himself a second before he hit the trigger button, and his right hand was quickly encased in not only armor but enough tech to fuel a repulsor in the center of his hand, which he set off the second it was operational, blasting through the chair holding him tied.

He couldn't help but let out a hiss through his teeth when the chair blasted apart and some of it hit his arms and back, but he was free, and he scrambled to turn with his repulsor out to blast through the two other guards who were in the room besides that Wesley creep who had approached him at the party before he held his hand, palm out, pointed at Fisk.

"New deal," Tony said to the big man, though Fisk didn't seem perturbed in the least, even if Wesley looked ready to kill Tony. "I walk out of here — with my partner — and you don't find out for yourself what a repulsor to the chest feels like." When Fisk just seemed to be almost entertained, Tony narrowed his eyes. "And if you've hurt her, you'll find out anyway."

Fisk started to raise a hand, and when Tony narrowed his eyes further, the big man smirked. "I told you, Mr. Stark. You don't seem to understand your current predicament," he said as he made a motion with one hand, and a door opened nearby.

Tony was equal parts relieved and upset to see Kate as one of Fisk's guards pulled her into the room ahead of him. The guy had a gun shoved underneath Kate's chin, forcing her head up, and he was sure to hold her in front of him so Tony couldn't get a good shot at the guy.

"Let her go," Tony said, cursing the situation in general. Of course he wound up with one of the awesomes who didn't know when to stop, especially in a state like hers… "You don't want her; you want me. So just leave her out of this."

"Oh but I do need her, Mr. Stark," Fisk said with a self-satisfied look. "To ensure your cooperation."

Tony shifted his stance so that it looked more open, trying to diffuse the whole situation if he could. "Look, we can be civilized about this, can't we?" he said in a more conciliatory tone. "You let her go — unharmed — and I give you my word I'll go along with this whole… contract thing. Willingly. No arguments."

"Why don't you follow my assistant Wesley," Fisk said evenly. "He'll take you down to the lab, and as long as you remain so cooperative, I give you my word your … partner..." He looked toward Kate, who whimpered the slightest bit as the guy holding her seemed to tighten his grip. "...won't be harmed. In fact, I can assure you that she will be well-cared for."

"I'm going to need more than just an assurance. Adjoining room to the lab. Behind glass is fine, but I need to be able to check on her myself. At any time." He put both hands up near his face. "That's all I'm asking for. It'll even save on babysitters."

Fisk seemed to think it over for a moment before he nodded once. "That can be arranged," he said.

District Seven

Logan and Kurt had finally made good on their promise to Kamala and Kitty and were working with the girls on their swordwork. To Kurt's irritation, both girls seemed to favor the katana — or at least, they favored the way they could use the swords. Logan was chuckling at Kurt's irritation as the lesson turned into a spar that amounted to two-on-two, though the girls kept switching sides. It was getting to be actual fun... but midway through their fourth partner switch, the ballroom was interrupted by a visitor.

"Logan, Kurt," Clint said, panting, before he seemed to notice that those two weren't the only ones there. "Guys, c'mon. I need your help on a ... situation."

"What kind of situation?" Kurt asked with a small frown as he took in the harried state of the blonde archer.

"Ran into some issues in One. Come on."

Logan tossed Kitty off his back and got up from where the girls had taken him down. "What kind of issues?"

"Yeah, well, you know how Stark was on board to investigate and play bait?" Clint frowned. "It worked."

"Wait, they sent Stark in? Not someone with an image inducer to look like Stark?" Logan asked.

"You know anyone who can imitate Stark? I mean, really," Clint pointed out. "For long periods of time. With businesspeople."

"Do I know anyone who can be an obnoxious grabass who thinks he's better than everyone around him? Yeah. I can think of a few," Logan said, giving Clint a look. "Give you an earwig, I'm pretty sure you could pull it off yourself."

"Yeah, possibly," Clint said, but he wasn't smirking in the slightest and looked distracted. "Doesn't matter — just light a fire. Or didn't Katie tell you she was Stark's date for the evening?"

That had Kurt standing totally still, his eyes wide. "She said she was going to do some surveillance work."

"Yeah, strictly speaking, the two of 'em were just going to go schmooze the rich people, and then I'd take care of any suspicious types they flagged," Clint said.

"Doesn't sound like it went according to plan," Logan said flatly as Kitty took the bokken from him. Just in case he decided to hit Clint.

"Yeah." Clint passed both hands through his hair. "By the time I hit their position after Katie hit the alarm, they were gone. Just a bunch of tire tracks. And their comms and tracers were ditched."

Both Kurt and Logan stared at him for a moment, but it was Kurt that asked, "When do we leave?"

"Soon as you two can get your armor and hit the jet. Nat and May're already there," Clint told them. "Figured you two should come, seeing as it's Kate."

"Five minutes, tops," Logan said as he and Kurt both took off at a dead run. "We'll grab the armor and put it on in the plane."

"Sounds good," Clint said with a sharp nod before he took off running for the jet himself.

By the time the two of them got to the jet, May was set, and as promised, they took off the second Logan and Kurt were aboard.

Early Morning August 13

District One

When they got to the abduction scene, the three of them scattered. Logan had followed the skid marks into the street and started to walk down the middle of it looking for more, while May filled Kurt in on where the comms as well as the tracers had been so he could look there. And Clint climbed up the nearest fire escape for a better vantage point.

Natasha was re-checking everything for the hundredth time when Logan called out from a block and a half down. "You guys check the traffic cameras?"

"I had Skye check them on the way back," May called back. "Nothing more useful than what we already know — a whole lot of cars came through here at once, all black."

Logan walked back to the intersection between them and paused in the center, looking down both ways. "Which way'd they turn?"

"They split. All three directions," Skye supplied over the comms, running the intel for them from back home.

"You chase down all three?"

"We've chased down two so far," Clint said. "They left us a nice trail to some random homes that were completely clean."

"I was hopin' to talk to one of 'em," Logan grumbled as he returned to them.

"If we find one of them, I might let you do some talking," May said. "But we haven't." It was clear in the tone of her voice that she was frustrated.

"Anything outside of random houses? Gotta be they're meeting somewhere." Logan mused. "What about since? She spot em on camera since then?"

May deflected to Skye, who after just a beat finally answered, "I'm running it now." She rushed to get her program running, her fingers flying across the keys until she found three of them together — parked in front of a high rise on the other side of town.

"Got a very ugly highrise that might be of interest," Skye said. "I'll send the coordinates now."

"Let's check it out," Kurt said quickly, clearly ready to do something.

"Maybe while we're on the way, Skye can figure out who owns that place — or the cars. Something. We need to know if we're dealing with the guys who snatched the spiders or if it's Hydra or … someone else," Clint added.

With all of them in agreement, they headed out. They went their separate ways once they were a few blocks out — Clint of course to the rooftop of a nearby building where he'd have a decent view of the executive's suite on the top floor. May stuck with the transport, ready to show up at a moment's notice, while Skye made sure the teams comms were linked up with each other and slid into the vents with a boost from Kurt and Logan once the three of them snuck into the building, and the two campfire boys put their sneaky skills into play as they evaded the cameras and slipped through the shadows, one floor at a time, in search of any sign of where their friends had been detained.

"Nothing compromising in the vent system," Natasha said quietly. "I thought for sure there'd be something like pressure sensors or something laser triggered, but so far—" She paused as she worked herself into a bottlenecked section. "—nothing I can't handle."

"Nothing interesting from here I can see except a whole lot of standing around and talking. I have learned about art today," Clint said dryly. "Just by reading lips. I swear, it's dull."

Time ticked on slowly, and to those outside the building, it was incredibly tense, with nothing to mark the passage of time other than the occasional check ins from their silent counterparts.

As Natasha was doing her check-in, an odd green smoke began to creep around her. "Guys," she said, trying to move away from the cloud, "I think I have a problem."

"Where are you?" Logan asked as he and Kurt tried to figure out what they could do.

"Twenty-fifth floor, near the elevators. I was just headed to check the shafts," she explained through a fit of coughing.

"Whatever it is, it's not on their computer systems," Skye warned. "There be dragons."

"On our way," Kurt told her as the two of them blew off any attempt at remaining undercover and ran for Natasha. She had managed to make it to an opening and was nearly sliding out when they arrived to pull her through the rest of the way.

"I must've tripped something," she told them as she gasped in air. They held her upright, one on each side, before the three of them slid to the floor and let her rest for a moment.

Kurt began to try and check her over. "Can you breathe better now?" he asked, watching her eyes carefully. Her color was not good.

She didn't respond but to nod a little bit, still trying to take deeper breaths.

"Come on, darlin'," Logan told her as he pulled her back upright. "Let's get you out of plain sight at least." They got to the stairwell, and the two boys shared a look, clearly ready to head down to get her to May, when she cut into their thoughts.

"Up. Go up. Two more flights," she said breathlessly.

"You can hardly breathe," Kurt pointed out. "You need to get out." But she just shook her head. "Alright then, last two floors. Logan and I will run them. You wait for us in the stairwell," he told her — not that she could argue much.

The next floor was empty ... entirely. No office equipment — no whisper of anything at all. When they got up to the top floor, however, it got interesting very quickly. Kurt reached for the handle to the door, and it was opened for him by a very large gentleman in a fitted suit.

"My employer is expecting you," the man said. Logan looked over his shoulder as armed men stepped out from several floors below them, and two came out from the roof access. He and Kurt shared a look and simply stepped past the man, with Natasha between them.

"You guys getting this?" Logan breathed out.

"Yeah. Try not to let us hear you get killed," Clint said.

The tall, likely armed guard led the three of them and held open the one and only door on the floor. Kurt tipped his head as if to say 'we've come this far', and again, they stepped through the door.

Inside was a vast, lavish, open room with a wall of glass overlooking the city below. Smooth, modern-looking furniture decorated the room, expensive art covered the walls, and obscure, free-standing sculptures dotted the wide room. They continued to walk through it, the number of guards behind them growing the further they got into the place, until finally, they saw the inhumanly large 'employer'.

"You were not invited into my home," the man started out. "I don't take kindly to intruders."

"Yeah, well we don't take kindly to kidnappers," Clint said in their ears. "I'd bet my bootlaces this is the guy. He just screams bad guy."

"I thought escorts weren't paid that much," Logan said in a low rumble. "Or have you been pulling in big profits since the war?" Natasha looked up at the man across from them and breathed out his name into the headset for the others to hear — just in case.

"Fisk," she said quietly before coughing rather violently.

Fisk looked them over, seeming to be equally interested in all three of them. "You three ... you should all be dead."

Kurt smirked. "We've heard that a lot."

"Right. Director Fury's Tahiti program, of course," he said with an appreciative nod. "But I wasn't referring to that." He made a motion with one hand, and all of the guards cocked their weapons. "I just meant that you should be dead." Fisk gestured for them to head toward the windows. "Unbreakable bulletproof glass," he informed them. "And tile floors with drains. Do the math."

"May," Logan said in his normal volume. "I hope you're ready."

"Ready when you are."

Fisk frowned at them, and the trio turned around. "They'll still shoot you in the back," he told them. "But if you can't stand the idea…."

Logan gave Kurt a look, and the two of them stepped backward toward the armed men a few paces.

"On three?" Kurt asked. Logan nodded in return. Kurt counted down. and on three, they picked Natasha up off the floor and ran forward. Logan popped his claws and led through the window as the gunfire erupted around them. The fall could have been disastrous — if not for the fact that May had kept the transport hovering two stories below, and the three of them landed on top of it hard.

There was a sort of thwack and a burst of smoke to cover them before Clint landed on the transport as well and immediately moved to make sure that Natasha was secure. As soon as he had himself halfway secured too, Logan knocked on the roof of the transport and yelled at May to go.

May didn't need any further encouragement, and the transport was on its way in a second, only stopping once it was clear they would be safe so that everyone on the outside could climb inside.

"They weren't there," Logan grumbled as he brought the oxygen over to Clint and Natasha. Clint moved to secure the mask, then settled her in a little more comfortably.

"But I'm sure he knows where they are," Kurt added. "You're right — he's definitely the bad guy type."

"Then we'll come back and make him talk," Clint said, his jaw tight. "Soon as we get Nat fixed up."

"Drop us off, May; we'll call you up when we've got the other two," Logan said.

"I'm not leaving without her," Kurt agreed.

May just tipped her head their way. "From what Skye has found, Fisk has interests in other districts. We have no idea if she's even here."

Kurt and Logan shared a look — both of them frustrated. "Give me the list of what he owns here, We'll leave after we run them all down," Kurt suggested.

"He owns half the land, but it's not developed," Skye said over the comms. "I can give you a list, but anything worth looking at, May and Clint already covered."

"I've got my tablet," Logan said. "Send it there — whatever you got. There's gotta be somethin' else."

"I'll keep looking," Skye promised.